This work highlights new research into the fundamental properties of palladium-gold alloy membranes. Two types of self-supported palladium-gold foils were studied; membranes produced by magnetron sputtering and membranes produced by cold-working. The cold-worked membranes had thicknesses of 25 microns and gold contents from 0-40 wt% Au, while the sputtered films ranged from 10-31 microns in thickness and 5-10 wt% Au. These films were characterized by single-gas permeation testing in the temperature range of 473-773K and at pressures of up to 772 kPa. Membranes were studied before and after testing by XRD, XPS, XRF, and SEM/EDS.Hydrogen permeability in the 0-20 wt Au% range was found to be a function of synthesis technique as much as alloy content, with no single alloy having superior permeability at all temperatures. Sputtered materials had generally higher permeability than cold-worked materials of equivalent composition, although the thicker sputtered membrane had reduced hydrogen permeability compared to its thinner counterparts.